A temporary fix

Lance Armstrong has confessed: He lied (“Armstrong to Oprah: I doped,” Jan. 15). This is but the most recent case of a public figure who was never taught that “a lie may take care of the present, but it has no future.”

-- David W. Thompson,
Ewing

Bogged down by waste and fraud

I think the money we hand out for benefits is being diluted by greedy, overlapping, inefficient, unproductive or uncaring public entities — and to save this nation, this is the first and biggest issue that needs to be addressed by the people of this nation.

For the money people like us spend, we should have rockets and not trains, we should have roads paved in gold and bridges that float you like riding a feather in the wind. But, instead, we have pot-holed roads, bridges on the verge of collapse, dirty city streets and homeless people begging in the streets in the richest cities in the world.

It’s not the money we give out to needy people as caring Americans that’s killing us. It’s the money it costs us to give it out! Here is one simple fix: Employ a company such as American Express to handle the money. Why? Because we have agencies or departments for welfare, food stamps, Social Security, Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare and unemployment, and none of them are accountable to the others. This business model breeds the inefficiency, waste and fraud that is bankrupting our nation today.

If we made the government as efficient as any real company has to be to survive, people could retire with full benefits, higher than they have now, at the young age of 62. Health care for the uninsured only would actually work, roads and bridges would be beautiful and we would not have a national debt that’s going to collapse our nation in this decade.

-- David “D.J.” Baker,
Hamilton

Some have plenty, others still don’t have enough

The juxtaposed letters “Minimum wage is too little to live on” and “Senate dodges its fiscal duty” (Jan. 15) are prime examples of seeing our country from two very different perspectives.

The writer of the first letter is struggling to provide for his family on the minimum wage he’s paid, while the writer of the second letter believes the U.S. is becoming a socialist nation led by a president who is driving us toward class warfare and Marxism.

Seriously? Marxism? The last time I checked, the stock market, that bastion of our capitalist economy, was doing very well, CEOs are still being paid handsome salaries by their boards, and marginal income tax rates are the lowest in our history. Indeed, these are all the hallmarks of a successful democracy that enables our free and open markets.
So, no, we aren’t becoming a socialist nation.

That said, if a full-time worker who is paid the minimum wage cannot earn enough in a country as wealthy as the U.S. to provide his family with basic needs such as health care and education, then we’re not doing something right.

-- Donald M. Benjamin,
Plainsboro

Raising minimum wage is the least we can do

My husband and I have owned Family Tree and Turf Care for almost five years. I support the legislation to increase the minimum wage by $1.25 and tie it to the cost of living in New Jersey (“Bill to hike minimum wage headed to governor’s desk,” Dec. 4, 2012), and I hope the governor signs it into law.

It’s a proposal that is long overdue in one of the nation’s most expensive states. When I read that the new minimum wage will hurt employers, particularly small businesses (op-ed, “To lift our economy, raise minimum wage,” Jan. 9), I adamantly disagreed.

Workers who get paid poverty wages work overwhelmingly for the big chains, not for Main Street businesses. Most small “mom and pop” business owners are like me: We work side-by-side with our employees on a daily basis. We care about them and their families. We want them to have gas in their cars, buy their kids nice Christmas presents and go to the doctor when they need to.

We have two employees, whom we treat like members of our family. We make sure they are paid adequately and have health care, even when it takes away from our bottom line. In return, they work hard and do a good job.

A minimum-wage increase will help small businesses and grow the economy. A lot of New Jerseyans who have been out of work or are working now for lower pay have cut back on their spending. Raising the minimum wage will put more money in the pockets of customers, who will spend it at our local businesses. I certainly don’t think $8.50 an hour is enough for people trying to provide for their families, but it’s a good start.

-- Kim Drone,
Marlboro

A better vision for a site with a view

It’s great news that the Glen Cairn Arms eyesore will be gone soon (“Plan would raze long-vacant eyesore — Thomas Edison State to turn Glen Cairn Arms into nursing building,” Jan. 12), but I think that site needs a taxpaying occupant.

Perhaps a more multi-use design could be constructed, going up 10 stories or more, to include the school, plus housing, parking, a rooftop restaurant and observation deck overlooking the Delaware River. That location is, after all, prime real estate, perfectly located for such a structure.

Manhattan has such multi-use structures, such as the high-rise building at Columbus Circle that overlooks Central Park and houses retail shopping at ground level, offices and apartments above the stores, underground parking and a world-class music venue featuring jazz artists.

Trenton needs to create a reason for people to come visit from surrounding townships. A rooftop restaurant/bar would perhaps attract them. Right now, the Trenton downtown is almost a ghost town after 5 p.m., when the state workers leave for home. As a Trenton native, it’s my hope that this opportunity for dramatic forward thinking and creative architecture will not be wasted on a single-use structure for a tax-exempt school.

-- Lance S. Kounitz,
Hamilton

Not on my watch

Before President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden take away my guns (which is unconstitutional), they should try removing all the guns from their Secret Service agents and see how safe they feel.

-- Lynn Trombitas,
Hamilton

March for gun control

Gun control is a critical community issue that’s been heightened by the recent unspeakable tragedy in Newtown, Conn. Our nation has endured far too many acts of senseless gun crimes far too often in recent years. This is an issue my district will take all the way to Washington, D.C.

On Sat., Jan. 26, I will join Bergen County residents on a bus trip to participate in the March on Washington for Gun Control. We will march for impactful legislative action on the federal level and within each state that would help us address the long-standing crisis of gun control in our communities.

People who’d like to join us on the bus can contact Julie O’Brien at (201) 576-9199 or email me at AswWagner@njleg.org. It is time for the nation to take a stand, and New Jersey will be there.

-- Connie Wagner,
Paramus
The writer, a Democrat, represents the 38th District in the New Jersey General Assembly.